Reebok party at Club no.9

After the Nike exhibit at 26 Degrees on Friday, I headed over to Club No. 9 for a Reebok event. I haven’t been to Club 9 in a long time and I was interested in seeing what Reebok had lined up. I didn’t hear anything about special guests beforehand, but during the night they rolled out a bizarre mixture of talent!

Club No.9 is an interesting space. It occupies the top floor of The Galleria, an upscale shopping arcade in Central. There are three things I like about Club no.9: it’s shaped like a donut; it’s got a large outdoor patio; and the ceiling of the space is a huge dome, similar to a planetarium.

Arriving around 10:30, the club was already quite full. Though I like the shape of the place, it’s not the best use of space, since a major area of the room is taken up by the hole in the middle. This leaves guests scrambling along the circumference, which results in traffic jams near the bars on either end.

The domed ceiling, attractive in its own right, was being utilized to screen video on. Reebok was showing short clips throughout the event with entertainers and athletes giving shout-outs to the brand and their new slogan: “there are two people in everyone.” A bit nonsensical if you ask me!

The entertainment lined up for the night started off with local street-ball player and d.j. Jay Weezy as the warm-up for d.j. Domination a turntablist who wowed the crowd with his yoga-like positions while scratching.

A band featuring Paul Wong, one of the members of an extinct Hong Kong Rock group named Beyond came up next and played a few songs. They were followed by D.J. Kool, who had a hit in 1996 called “Let Me Clear My Throat,” that was a popular party song.

Overall the odd combination of talent wasn’t helped by awkward change-overs between acts. What would have been unique would have been having the three main acts – DJ Domination, DJ Kool, and Paul Wong share the stage for a song. But things like that can’t happen due to time constraints and egos. Foreign artists are brought in just for a day or two before flying off to the next city (usually on a multi-stop tour of Asia). I suppose anything out of the ordinary takes more time, which equals more money.

I left Club no.9 wondering whether September is some sort of sneaker season. With recent action around town from Puma, Ice Cream, Nike, Reebok, and an Adidas event coming up this week it seems so!

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